Four from city on youth programme

Four Wanganui youths are among the last in the country to secure places on the government's $40 million Community Max programme.
The youths were granted the last of 3000 places available nationwide on the Community Max scheme to start the Ake Project, which will primarily focus on building a youth centre for the community.
The Community Max programme pays minimum wage to youth aged 16-24 to work 30 hours a week for six-months to complete community projects for the benefit of the community or environment.
Last year, a Ohakune-based Iwi Ngati Rangi were the first community in the country to take up the opportunity offered by the Community Max scheme.
Lead by Aerosol Arts Project founder Pamela Roy, the Ake (meaning "rise up") Project, is made up of Cobi Canterbury, 17, Hare Kake, 16, Jurita Herekiuha, 16, and Kaz Fisher, 18, who were recommended by Work and Income.
The main focus for the group is creating a youth centre in a disused part of the Yes 2 Youth building in Rangiora Street, Castlecliff.
"One of our objectives is to renovate the space into a youth centre. There's nothing down here for youth to do during the holidays except for the skatepark, which is when kids get into mischief. So this will be a place where they can come and hang out, and we'll be putting on workshops. [It'll] give them somewhere to go and something to do," Ms Roy said.
The group started outlining their plans for the youth centre this week, which included both the inside and outside of the building.
"We'll be getting in local tradesmen to teach the kids so that they have a few things to add to their resume by the end of the project."
The youth centre would include a games wall, a music area, a boxing bag, pool tables and couches. Both the inside and outside of the building would be painted and stencilled by the kids too, she said.
Structurally, there was some wall damage, a few leaks and interior wall dividers to be put up.
Ms Roy said the Ake Project would also help the graffiti squad clean up graffiti, learn about the Treaty of Waitangi and learn more about art, including carving and screen printing though a series of workshops with different artists.
Jurita said she was particularly looking forward to painting and stencilling. "I'm really looking forward to the end result and what it will look like."
Another member, Kaz, was also involved in painting the Kowhai Park skatepark mural, so she was the "stencil queen" Ms Roy said.
The two boys, Cobi and Hare, said they were looking forward to the workshops, particularly those with a guitar maker and a carver.
"The building will be pretty mean," Cobi said.
There are currently 55 young people working on Community Max funded programmes in Wanganui.